an increase in discrimination complaints against women during the #MeToo movement, and more.

He was exasperated after the commission attended a vigil Saturday night in Pittsburgh, honoring the 11 dead and six injured in the shooting at the Jewish Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill.

“We mourn the beautiful souls that were lost today but at the same time we confront white terrorism and white nationalism, which is a threat to our very principles of democracy," Lassiter said.

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Chad Dion Lassiter, PHRC Executive Director, speaks to the remarks of the Ku Klux Klansman during the "No Hate in Our State" Social Justice Town Hall meeting at the Crispus Attucks Community Center, Wednesday, September 26, 2018.
(Photo: Cameron Clark, York Daily Record)

He attributed the Pittsburgh shooting to the availability of weapons and a long history of antisemitism he said often goes unchecked in our democracy. He's also noticed a resurgence of white supremacy and "white terrorism" in the Trump era.

"This latest incident tells us that we need more than healing after these sorts of horrific incidents in Pennsylvania. We need to track down where hate is and work in a collaborative to expose it and root it out before it leads to these barbaric outcomes," Lassiter said.

The Anti-Defamation League has also noticed an increase in hate and antisemitism.

League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt in a statement said the Pittsburgh shooting was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in U.S. history.

"It is simply unconscionable for Jews to be targeted during worship on a Sabbath morning, and unthinkable that it would happen in the United States of America in this day and age. Unfortunately, this violence occurs at time when ADL has reported a historic increase in both anti-Semitic incidents and anti-Semitic online harassment," Greenblatt said.

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Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf expressed condolences for the lives lost in the shooting at a synagogue today. Police confirm at least 10 people were killed.
USA TODAY

Southern Poverty Law Center is also tracking an increase in white supremacy groups throughout the U.S. Of those, neo-Nazi groups showed the most growth, with a 22 percent uptick from 917 in 2016 to 953 in 2017.

There are presently 36 hate groups in Pennsylvania, including a Holocaust denial group in York County, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The violence in Pittsburgh follows on the heels of a string of attempted pipe bombings by a white supremacist who targeted frequent critics of President Trump," Southern Law Poverty Center President Richard Cohen said in a statement.

Cohen, Lassiter, Greenblatt, and numerous Democrats, some Republicans, and anti-discrimination organizations are putting some of the blame on the president's divisive rhetoric.

But Robert Bowers, the 46-year-old gunman charged with fatally shooting 11 people and injuring six more in Pittsburgh, was not a Trump supporter, according to his social media posts. He accused Trump of being too friendly with Israel.

Bowers screamed anti-Semitic phrases, including "All Jews must die," as he fired at random, a law enforcement official told USA TODAY.

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Hear audio from the Pittsburgh Police scanner as officers responded to a mass shooting at Tree of Life Synagogue and took Robert Bowers into custody.
Paul Kuehnel, pkuehnel@ydr.com

As federal authorities investigate and prosecute the mass shooting as a hate crime, state leaders are working to eliminate hate in Pennsylvania.

"We cannot be afraid to address the shadow of white hate with policy and the harshest of condemnation. It will take a coordinated effort for sure but also an earnest commitment," Lassiter added.

Lassiter said training will be required around hate crimes, specifically antisemitism, after the Pittsburgh shooting and other incidents.

The state Human Relations Commission has reached out to the Pennsylvania Jewish Coalition to "assist in any way we can."

The commission recently held a town hall in York and is planning two more in the county.

A state hearing was held in June to collect information on the Grandview incident, when cops were called twice because women were allegedly golfing too slowly. The commission's recommendations from that hearing are still pending.

"The hope is that we can build a coalition of the beloved community that Rev. (Martin Luther) King spoke about and through policy and through prosecution we can condemn these hate crimes in Pennsylvania," Lassiter said. "It will not be an easy effort and will not happen overnight but we must be deeply committed to addressing and exposing hate even if it cost those of us who stand up to the shadow of hate our very own lives. If we die let us nobly die."

Sukanya Srinivasan, 46, watches as hundreds gather during a vigil outside the Jewish Community Center in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh Saturday night. Srinivasan, a resident since 1997, said, "Squirrel Hill is so inclusive, you’d never imagine something like this to ever happen here." Neil Strebig

Cecilia Obermeier, 31, right, hands out heart stickers Saturday during a candlelight vigil for shooting victims at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. "It is just a simple reminder to people that we need simple acts of kindness," Obermeier said. Neil Strebig

Residents gather outside of the Sixth Presbyterian Church, located just across the street from the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, Saturday during a candlelight vigil mourning the victims of the Tree of Life synagogue shooting. Neil Strebig

Anne-Marie Silver, left, Mara Silver and Beth Silver, all members of Congregation Dor Hadash, which makes its home at the Tree of Life building, attend a candlelight vigil in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh Saturday. Neil Strebig